A couple of weeks ago, I watched a video on the Yahoo!Sports Postgame Training Day blog that showed how to determine if your core is strong or weak by doing a simple variation on a pushup. This test involved pulling your hands close to your chest and performing the pushup from this position, thus shortening your lever arm and shifting most of the burden of lifting your body to your abdomen and legs. This shows you whether you’re relying on your arms or your core to do the work during a pushup. If you have trouble lifting your back and quads into the pushup position from here, your core is weaker than it should be.
I realized this exercise was akin to a core-intensive pose I do in my yoga practice that also relies on shortening the lever arm in front to force me to use my core in a pushup position. This “forearm plank” is one of the core strengthening exercises in my list below, all of which will help to add juice to your abdominal muscles so that you don’t find yourself sagging in the middle when you’re trying to do pushups or anything else! The strong core is all!
The Exercises
Downward-Facing Dog into Upward-Facing Dog flow: This is a good, gentle flow to begin and end a workout. Downward-facing dog is one of the basic poses in hatha yoga, and it is one of the most helpful for your back, legs and hips. But, in order to hold the position properly, you must tighten your core muscles. Arms and feet are both hip-distance apart, and the body is held in a V-position with the rear end at the apex. The back is straight, and the abdominal muscles must be tightened to support the back position. The shoulders are held away from the ears to avoid strain to the neck and upper body. The head is down, in a line with the spine. You are on tip-toes. Then, your lower body sinks to the mat slowly, controlled by the arms and the toes, the V becoming almost a U, as you descend and turn your curve inside-out into Upward Facing Dog. Your back curves up, and the arms hold the front of your body facing upward. Aim your gaze to the ceiling and hold your core tight to support the back. Your pelvis will be against the mat, the toes gripping the mat for the next move. From here, you will glide smoothly back up into Downward Dog. Use your core to push yourself, rather than relying solely on your arm strength. Dolphin Plank, a.k.a. Forearm Plank: A variation of the extended-arm (pushup) plank, this one is done on the forearms. The best starting position is on all fours, arms shoulder-width apart, knees hip-distance apart. Lower the arms so that the elbows are on the mat. You can either hold your hands with the edge against the mat or flatten them on the mat. Then lift your knees to bring your body into an inverted V shape, on your tiptoes. You will assume the same body configuration as in Downward Dog (described above), lowering your head to rest in between your forearms, much as in Downward Dog. This is Dolphin pose. From this position, lower your rear end until you are in a straight-bodied pushup position, on your toes in back and forearms in front. Hold this pose as long as possible, and then slowly lower your body to the ground. Dolphin Pushup: Assume the Dolphin pose as described above, but intertwine your fingers in front of you, making a triangle with your forearms and hands. Slowly push your body forward and down, using the forearms for controlling the move and the core to stabilize. Hold in the forward position for a second and push back up into Dolphin pose. Repeat 5-10 times, but stop if your shoulders begin to ache. Locust pose (2 variations): Variation 1 (Superman): Lie on your stomach, legs together and arms extended over your head, roughly shoulder width apart. Inhale slowly and lift both your arms and your legs off the mat, ideally leaving only your midsection contacting the mat. Attempt to keep your legs and feet together as you do this. Exhale part-way and lower slightly, inhale and lift slightly higher. Hold and exhale, allowing all limbs to return to the mat. Turn your head right after the first rep and left after the second, and so on. Variation 2 (Airplane): Do the same locust pose from Variation 1, only your arms will be extended out to the sides and lifted straight up and a little back (like the curve of a jet’s wings) when you come off the mat. This pose will not only help you strengthen your core, it works your thighs, shoulders and is a gentle backbend. Tightening the core will protect and balance your back in this pose. Boat pose, slow descent (variation): It is easiest to get into a boat pose from a seated position. I often get into the pose from a butterfly stretch, which opens the hips, but you can also simply lift your legs from a seated straight-legged position. You will slowly raise your legs upward and lean back with your upper body until you are balancing on your rear end (sit-bones). Your legs can be either bent or straight, and you can hold them at a high angle or a lower one, depending on your level of stability. The important thing is the core; it must be tight and engaged in order to hold this pose. To work your core even more, slowly allow your legs to fall while leaning back, taking your time to eventually reach a supine position. For extra challenge, hold legs and body up off the mat at the tail end of your descent, delaying your rest on the mat. Work up from a couple of repetitions to about 10, and you will notice your core strength improving. Be careful not to strain your back or put too much pressure on your hip bones during this exercise. If you notice you are using your back to hold yourself up, discontinue the exercise.
Core Strengthening Leads to Full Body Strengthening
If you do these core exercises regularly, not only will you notice strength and ease of movement in all your routines, you will build up all your body’s muscle systems, not to mention improving your stability. A strong core is the key to attaining the ability to support your body in all exercises. These powerful yoga exercises will not only strengthen your core muscles, but they will also tone complementary muscle systems, such as your arms, shoulders, quadriceps, ankles, calves, even your toes, feet and wrists. Yoga is a whole-body workout, and it will help you to find strength you didn’t know you had.